Everton battled back with a far more assertive second-half performance to salvage a point against Leeds United, as Thierno Barry continued his fine scoring run.
Barry struck late to earn the Toffees a 1-1 draw at Hill Dickinson Stadium, netting in the 76th minute to extend his impressive Premier League form.
The French forward has now scored four times in his last five league appearances, cancelling out James Justin’s opener for Leeds before the break.
The visitors started brightly and were rewarded midway through the first half. Anton Stach delivered a teasing cross in the 28th minute, which Justin met emphatically at the far post to give Leeds the lead. Daniel Farke’s side nearly doubled their advantage soon after as Everton struggled to settle.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, facing his former club for the first time, came agonisingly close to reaching double figures in league goals this season, but his close-range effort rattled the upright.
A double change at half-time proved pivotal for Everton, with David Moyes introducing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jarrad Branthwaite while reshaping his side.
The adjustment sparked a noticeable upturn in intensity and control.
Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow produced a superb full-stretch save to deny Barry’s inventive outside-of-the-boot attempt, but the striker would not be denied moments later.
Barry cleverly darted ahead of Sebastiaan Bornauw before lifting Idrissa Gueye’s cross into the top of the net to level the score.
Everton pushed hard for a winner and came within inches of completing the turnaround.
Substitute Tyler Dibling laid the ball into the path of Gueye, whose powerful strike from the edge of the area crashed against the crossbar.
Despite their sluggish first-half display, Everton may feel they did enough after the interval to take all three points. It was only the second occasion this season they avoided defeat in the league after conceding first.
Leeds, however, will rue missed opportunities to seal the contest earlier. They finished with an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.23 from 14 attempts, compared to Everton’s 0.6 from 10 shots, yet Barry’s clinical touch once again proved decisive.
Since the beginning of December, only Ollie Watkins and Calvert-Lewin (seven goals each) and Erling Haaland (six) have outscored Barry in the Premier League.
The Frenchman’s resurgence is underlined by the fact that after failing to score with his first 15 shots this season, he has now found the net with five of his last 10 efforts.
For Leeds, the draw still represents steady progress towards safety. The Whites have lost just once in the league since December began, and only Aston Villa, Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Fulham have collected more points over that period.
